Since 2013, Women for Tennessee’s Future (WTF) has endorsed over 30 progressive women running for office across the state of Tennessee and invested nearly $75,000 in their campaigns for local and state offices… but progress has been slow. Consider these statistics:

Women’s representation in the TN State Legislature is stagnant, making up only 16.7% of the Legislature. The national average of all women serving in State Legislatures is 25%.

Mayor Megan Barry, WTF’s first endorsed candidate, became Nashville’s first woman Mayor, joining Mayor Madeline Rogero as the only women ever elected Mayor to one of Tennessee’s four largest cities. Clarksville, Tennessee’s 5th largest city, also has a trailblazing woman Mayor, Kim McMillan.

More women than ever serve on the Nashville Metro Council, but still make up just over 30% of the Council.

In Chattanooga and Memphis, women make up just 22% and 23% of the City Councils, respectively.

And not surprisingly, a woman has never been elected Governor or to the U.S. Senate.

Representation 2020, a nonpartisan initiative committed to achieving gender parity in our appointed and elected offices in the United States, ranks Tennessee 43 out of 50 states.

Seriously, WTF?

So, why are there so few women serving in public office?

Study after study shows the same results: women face many barriers to becoming candidates for public office. Consider:

Women are less likely to see themselves as qualified to run for office

Women are less likely to be recruited or groomed to run for office

Oftentimes women have less access to big donors and traditional powerbrokers

Women are still responsible for the majority of household and child care tasks that make running for office more challenging

Women are more likely to be turned off by the negative nature of modern campaigns

WTF is committed to advancing and funding the next generation of female elected leaders in Tennessee by helping them overcome these barriers.